It’s been five months since Democratic Governor Ralph Northam’s blackface scandal upended Virginia politics.
Now, new campaign finance disclosures show the governor’s political action committee is up and running.
It’s called The Way Ahead. That’s the political action committee controlled by embattled Virginia Governor Ralph Northam, who must now navigate widespread calls for resignation with the demands of an off-year election.
“I believe what the governor is doing, at this point, is pretty smart,” says Ben Tribbett, who works in Democratic politics.
He says the governor is being reactive rather than proactive. “Because usually the governor’s PAC would just be sending out things assuming everyone wanted it. In this case, they’re being careful to wait for people to ask. And you can see from the finance reports that a lot of people are asking.”
In four out of five of the most competitive Senate races this year, Democrats took the money and ran. Only one Democrat in a hotly contested race did not take money from the governor’s PAC. A handful of House incumbents also took money.
But Republican strategist Dan Scandling says Northam is not really conducting business as usual. “It’s not like he’s got millions and millions of dollars to distribute. He’s not going to be the rainmaker or the difference maker," Scandling says. "It’s going to be the party. And that’s where they’re telling people to funnel the money through.”
The Democratic Party of Virginia raised more than half a million dollars since March. That’s significantly more than the Republican Party of Virginia raised during that same time, which was about $36,000.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
